CNN Indonesia

Saturday January 20, 2024 1:52 p.m. IWST

Jakarta, CNN Indonesia —

Indonesian badminton's bad start in 2024 continues Indian Open. For the second time in a row, no Indonesian representative managed to qualify for the semi-finals of a major tournament earlier this year.

Nine Indonesian representatives all lost until the quarter-finals of the Indian Open 2024 held at the KD Jadhav Indoor Stadium in New Delhi.

In the quarterfinals on Friday (19/1), the two remaining Indonesian representatives: Anthony Ginting and Fajar Alfian/Muuhammad Rian Ardianto lost.

Ginting, who was the fourth seed at this year's Indian Open, was beaten by Lee Cheuk Yiu of Hong Kong. Ginting lost 17-21, 21-18 and 13-21.

Meanwhile, Fajar/Rian was folded by Kang Min Hyuk/Seo Seung Jae. Fajar/Rian lost in two consecutive matches 14-21 and 18-21 against the South Korean men's doubles.

“We admit that the pairs in the top eight are currently improving their performance, while we are not yet back to peak performance, but we will keep trying. As long as we have the opportunity, we will try to give the maximum. We will never stop asking for prayers and support from all fans and the entire Indonesian community,” Fajar said after his defeat.

The 2024 Indian Open results mean Indonesia failed to qualify for the semi-finals for the second time in a row this year. Previously, during the 2024 Malaysia Open, Indonesia was also unable to send representatives to the semi-finals.

This negative trend is quite worrying considering that Indonesian badminton is currently facing qualification for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Apart from this, the sports are once again tasked with winning gold medals.

Next, the Indonesian representatives will participate in the Indonesia Masters 2024 which will be held at Istora Gelora Bung Karno, from January 23 to 28.

(har)